Copyright policy

We respect intellectual-property rights and respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512).

Sending a copyright notice

If you believe content on RateMyColleague infringes your copyright, send a notice that includes:

1. your physical or electronic signature (a typed full name is fine);
2. identification of the copyrighted work you believe is infringed;
3. identification of the material you believe infringes it, and its link on our site;
4. your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address;
5. a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
6. a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner of the copyright or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

The quickest way is our legal request form (choose “Copyright notice”).

When we receive a notice that meets these requirements, we remove or disable access to the material promptly and tell the person who posted it.

Sending a counter-notice

If your content was removed because of a copyright notice and you believe that was a mistake or a misidentification, you can send a counter-notice that includes:

1. your physical or electronic signature;
2. identification of the material that was removed and where it appeared before it was removed;
3. a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification;
4. your name, address and telephone number; and
5. a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. federal district court for the judicial district where your address is (or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district where RateMyColleague may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice or their agent.

Use our legal request form (choose “Copyright counter-notice”). We send a copy of a valid counter-notice to the person who sent the original notice, and we restore the material in 10 to 14 business days unless they tell us they have filed a court action to stop the infringement.

Repeat infringers

In appropriate circumstances, we close the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyright.

Misrepresentation

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages. If you're not sure whether material infringes copyright, consider asking a lawyer first.